> I was given my first camera in 1961 at the age of seven, had my first > picture > published at the age of eight, and was being published regularly by the time > I was twelve, albeit in the local newspaper. > > Now, at 48, I am just another mediocre hack. > > What went wrong? > > Well, at the age of 16, I joined the local camera club and everyone insisted > that I must learn the "rule of thirds" ...
Tony, Aww...I'm sorry. It's so easy to lose the "early edge" of fresh seeing that some people have when they first pick up the camera. I've been fortunate in that I really had no talent at all when I first started photographing--I was an artist and merely used the camera to take "visual notes" with. But when I was teaching I had students like you. I honestly think that if I had extended my teaching career to, say, ten years, I could have made a "best of" book of their photographs that would have yielded pride of place to nothing. There was lots of drek, of course, but also some very vital and energetic work. --Mike
